Rob Greenfield

On the journey he carried out multiple campaigns to "inspire individuals to wake up and take action." To raise awareness about water waste he lived off a leaky fire hydrant for five days in New York City. Later he cycled from New York City to Boston during a heat wave living solely on leaky faucets in a campaign called Drip by Drip. About 70 percent of his diet came from dumpsters—he ate more than 280 pounds of food from grocery store dumpsters to bring attention to food waste.

Greenfield cycled across the USA for the second time in the summer of 2014. In the first half of the ride he volunteered at nonprofits, planted wildflowers and vegetables along his path, and promoted a happy, healthy, carefree and waste-free existence. He left home with $2,000 in cash, no credit cards, and upon arrival in Madison, Wisconsin donated his last $421 to a non-profit. He then vowed to travel without money the rest of the way to New York City and eat solely out of dumpsters at grocery stores and convenience stores to draw attention to and find solutions for food waste.

In major cities he held Food Waste Fiascos in which the edible food he found in dumpsters, was displayed in one spot to show how much of it there is. Greenfield said, “The stats are enormous—$165 billion worth of food thrown out each year, or about half of all the food we produce—but it’s hard for people to wrap their head around numbers. Seeing a beautiful display of a couple thousand dollars’ worth of perfectly good food pulled from dumpsters near them does the trick, though".

After graduating from Ashland High School in northern Wisconsin, Greenfield attended the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree. He traveled to six continents throughout his time in university and upon graduation.

In 2013, Greenfield cycled 4,700 miles (7,600 km) across America on a bicycle made of bamboo to inspire Americans to live more sustainably. On this 104-day ride he used just 160 US gallons (610 l) of water, created a mere 2 pounds (0.9 kg) of trash, traveled via his own power save one mile on a ferry into New York City, plugged into only five outlets, and never turned on a light switch.

From April 2013 to April 2014 Greenfield spent a year bathing only in natural water sources such as rivers, lakes, waterfalls and in the rain. The average American consumes around 100 gallons of water per day. During the first four months of the campaign Rob used an average of two gallons a day, and when he returned to his home he managed to use just ten to twenty gallons per day.

Ultimately the purpose of the campaign was to get grocery stores to donate the food they would otherwise throw away. The primary reason corporations have given for not donating their excess food is the fear of liability if someone gets sick from eating it. The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act shields food donors from liability and a 2013 study by the University of Arkansas School of Law shows there has not been a single case that involved food donation-related liability for a grocery store.

Greenfield prompts sustainable living and he practices what he preaches. He has converted to a vegetarian lifestyle and focuses on sustainable living. He travels barefoot, and mostly by bicycle. He doesn't have credit cards or a retirement account, doesn't own a car and hasn't used a shower since April 2013. What allowed him to live in this manner is giving up the desire to have lots of money.

In 2011 Greenfield relocated to San Diego, California, where he founded The Greenfield Group, an environmentally active marketing company.

Rob Greenfield (born August 28, 1986) is an American adventurer, environmental activist, and entrepreneur. He has made it his life’s purpose to inspire a healthy Earth, often with attention-grabbing tactics.